Archived: Supported Living

Updated 31 October 2019

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was completed by two inspectors.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in five ‘supported living’ settings, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. However, a manager had been recruited and was in the process of applying to register.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started and ended on 19 September 2019. We visited people in their own homes on 19 September 2019. We also visited the office location on 19 September 2019.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We visited four people who used the service to discuss their experience of the care provided. We spoke with four members of staff as well as the manager and the nominated individual.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including quality monitoring audits were reviewed.

Updated 31 October 2019

About the service

Supported Living is a supported living service providing personal care to seven people with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder at the time of the inspection.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People were kept safe by staff who knew how to report and act on concerns of abuse. Risks to people’s safety were well managed and people received support from a consistent team of staff. Medicines were managed safely.

Staff received training relevant to their role to enable them to support people effectively. People had support to meet their dietary needs and access healthcare support where needed.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence. The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

People were supported by staff who were kind and caring. People were given choices and their independence was encouraged.

People were supported by staff who knew them well. Activities and employment opportunities were based on people’s individual interests. Complaints made had been investigated and people’s end of life wishes had been explored.

People and staff spoke positively about the staff team and told us the service was well led. There were systems in place to monitor quality and although these were not applied consistently, the provider had plans in place to improve on these. People were given opportunity to feedback on the quality of the service and the provider displayed a commitment to learning and improving care.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 21/09/2018 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the date of registration.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.